Cleveland Indians Sweep the Tigers; Carrasco injured

The Cleveland Indians finished off a three-game sweep of the Detroit Tigers but appear to have lost Carlos Carrasco to a hamstring injury.

It’s one of those games that you really want to be excited for the Cleveland Indians, but it’s really tough to do so. The Tribe’s 6-3 win completed the sweep of the Tigers but they may be without Carlos Carrasco for a while. Carrasco left the game after injuring his hamstring covering first base in the third inning. Trevor Bauer did a solid job in relief and may now find himself back in the rotation for at least the next two weeks. Terry Francona on Carrasco’s status:

“We sent him back to Cleveland. He’s driving back now. Until we have an MRI we won’t know the severity. He’s going to be a DL (disabled list).”

Over the past few years, Carrasco has elevated himself to one of the top pitchers in the American League. While the Indians have been rumored to be looking to trade a starter over the past winter for offense–possibly an outfielder–holding on to that rotation depth could turn out to have been a good thing.

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The logical and easiest move for Francona would be to slot Bauer into Carrasco’s spot moving forward for the next few starts. Bauer can start his side sessions and be a little more stretched out for the next start. The Indians could then bring another bullpen arm up, possibly another lefty to give Tito more ability for matchups.

The severity of the injury won’t be known until after the MRI, but he’s headed to the 15-day disabled list at the minimum. I was one of those people that were pushing for the Indians to use their depth in pitching to try and obtain some offense this winter. I still think it was a smart idea, but this is why they say you can never have enough pitching.

We’ll have more info on Carrasco’s injury as it becomes available. Be sure to leave a comment or thoughts on what it could mean to the Indians chances should Cookie miss extended time.